#ANC100 debate lays bare divisions over South Africa media

On January 8, 1912, South African intellectuals--including
pioneering black newspaper publishers Pixley
ka Isaka Seme, editor of Abantu-Batho,
and John Langalibalele Dube,
editor of Ilanga lase Natal--formed Africa's
oldest liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC), in the Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein.

During weekend centennial commemorations of this
event, twitter users made the #ANC100 hash tag a global
trend. The lively social media debate illustrated both the discomfort many
Africans feel toward criticism of their leaders, and the role as scapegoat that
the media is currently playing as the ANC struggles to hold onto a decisively
positive legacy. It also highlights the growing influence of social media in
South Africa, where the number of Twitter users is estimated to have increased
20-fold in little more than a year, according to Bizcommunity.com.

The current ANC leadership has maligned the South African
news media for what it calls unfair coverage. The National Assembly that it
controls has passed an information
bill (still pending approval by the upper house) that would restrain
investigative reporting and make information harder to get - apparently all in
a bid to suppress
corruption stories and silence criticism. As such, journalists tweeting critically
about the party over the weekend met with antagonism on social media from ANC
supporters.

For example, after Time's
South Africa-based correspondent Alexander J. Perry tweeted
the headline of his article, "How the
ANC lost its way, A critical look at the most storied of liberation
movements on its centenary," a twitterer called Khaya Dlanga accused the
journalist of unbalanced reporting. "You didn't call it a failed state, but you
wrote your Time Magazine article like
you were writing about one," tweeted
Dlanga, who claimed his grandfather died after being imprisoned and tortured
during apartheid. "Reading the article seemed to me like the ANC didn't do one
good thing these past 17 years," Dlanga said.
"Yes, I do feel that most of our leaders are not living up to the ideals of the
founding fathers," he added,
before declaring:
"I criticize the ANC all the time, but I don't pretend they never do any good."
Perry defended the story but welcomed the feedback. "As you know, feedback,
like yours, is vital for any media," he tweeted.

"All the reports I've seen, by both local and international
media, about #ANC100 point out how the ANC has let itself go in recent years," complained
@Mabine_Seabe. "Y is the media focusing on what ANC is not doing, instead of
celebrating with them," asked
@morudilebo. "What's so hard for Media houses just to congratulate #ANC100 and
stop talking about discontents of past 17 years?" said
@mokhathi.

There were other signs of ANC-media tensions after several journalists criticized
President Jacob Zuma's speech at a local stadium in the municipality of Mangaung
on Sunday. "The story of Mangaung so far today. Two themes. How slowly Zuma is
delivering his speech and how quickly people are leaving. Sigh," tweeted
Channel 403 news anchor Iman Rappeti. In response, Mzi Dlanga, a Zuma
supporter, tweeted:
"Some idiots are criticizing President Zuma's speech & if u were to give
them a piece of paper & a pen they wouldn't even know where to start." Dlanga
also accused journalist and political analyst Justice Malala of bias against
the president. "My guess is that Justice Malala would be attacking the
character of Mr Zuma & he won't give us balanced analysis of the ANC," he tweeted.

Reporting on Zuma's speech, journalist Mandy Rossouw tweeted
that "A faction in the crowd tries their best to distract Zuma, police sent in
to stop them." Zuma supporter MthimkuluMashiya responded,
"JZ speech shaping up to be a powerful & inspirational one, must u
concentrate on a few disruptive elements? C'mon now."

Earlier, City Press Multimedia Editor Qhakaza Mthembu
complained about the official decision to deny journalists access to the
Wesleyan church where Zuma lit a symbolic torch. "Why would you invite the
media if you gonna push us away and close church doors, I'm here to film the
candle not the friggin doors," she angrily tweeted. Mthembu
later sarcastically expressed her surprise at seeing an ANC spokesman lounging
in the media pavilion, drawing an even more sarcastic comment
by @drphobophob: "Oh is Floyd Shivambu chilling in the media pavilion? I was
pretty sure he hated our kind...1st rule of war=know your enemy."

The South African Press Agency, a non-governmental agency around since 1938, made note of an
apparently deliberate act by the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) to shut out the media
by not distributing their public statement to journalists. "#ANCYL message of
support not in booklet handed to journos at ANC Centenary, just Sanco, Cosatu,
Sacp, women's league and veterans league," read a tweet on its
account.

Yet not all criticism of the ANC appeared to come from
members of the press. "The #ANC pops champagne yet majority of South Africans
struggle to access clean water. "tweeted
@bekezeep. "At #ANC100 look out for all the dictators with murky Zuma..." tweeted
@hebbiedodds. "LEADERS typically arrive in the latest range rover while the
masses are ferried in belching buses," tweeted
@Ms_eazy. "Celebrating 100 years of what? Have we achieved the true victories
set out in the Freedom Charter?" tweeted
@SuGaRusHB. "Gotta wonder what #anc100 concert really cost us? How many houses
schools or hospitals could we have built? How many kids could we have fed?" tweeted
@TracyLeePurto. "Anc was started by theologians yet today its criminals that
run it," tweeted
@MaqPaulM.

In a microcosm of the national debate, Zuma supporters confronted
a twitterer called Hlomla Dandala for mocking
the president. "Mangaung: Where tenderprenuers meet pantyprenuers," read one of
his tweets,
a witty reference to corruption and sex scandals entangling several ANC leaders.
Defending himself, Dandala tweeted
to a handful of Zuma supporters: "In all democracies, presidents r criticised,
ridiculed & mocked. That's democracy."

The best line came from National Director of Public Prosecution
Menzi Simelane, tweeting in his personal capacity. "Good thing about real
freedom is about making fun of your President, an elder, and a Statesman,
without worrying about repercussions!" he said.
However, given pending criminal
complaints by Zuma's spokesman against two journalists, as well as other potential
media prosecutions,
repercussions against investigative reporting cannot be ruled out.

UPDATE: This post has been corrected to reflect that City Press Multimedia Editor Qhakaza Mthembu is a female, and that the South African Press Agency is not state-run as previously stated.

Mohamed Keita is advocacy coordinator for CPJ's Africa Program. Keita has written about independent journalism and development in sub-Saharan Africa for publications including The New York Times and Africa Review, and has appeared on NPR, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, and Radio France Internationale. Keita has also given presentations on press freedom at the World Bank, U.S. State Department, and universities. Follow him on Twitter: @africamedia_CPJ.

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